When we were planning this holiday we asked the kids where they wanted to go if they could choose anywhere. They didn’t even think twice and said “the Daydream Mine”. They couldn’t remember where it was, or even if we were ever likely to be in that part of Australia again, but that was the top of their destination list.

Luckily for them the trip to the Daydream Mine was perfectly feasible as it is between Silverton and Broken Hill and we were kind of planning to come this way anyway!

Since we have been in Broken Hill for a week now we thought we had better take the trip out there before we leave, otherwise we would have two broken-hearted kids whining at us all the way home!

Last time we went there was 2 years ago and, like the nearby town of Silverton, there were only a few others on the tour with us and we had the place to ourselves. When we drove up yesterday there were about 20 cars there and people milling around everywhere waiting for their tour to begin. Bugger…. curse their good advertising!

We wandered up to the office and just beat the next arriving carload of people to put our names at the bottom of the list for the next surface and underground tour.

The Daydream Mine is a proper old mine, no above ground machinery, no winches and no safe workplaces for those old miners. All pick and hammer here. The area was very rich in silver, lead and zinc, and in the late 1800’s Cornish miners flocked to the area from the copper mines of Burra in South Australia.

It wasn’t just miners though, they bought their wives and children too. There were no roads to such a remote place so they pushed wooden wheelbarrows full of their belongings the 400 miles here.

No wheelbarrows for us, luckily.

No roads. 400 miles. Wooden wheelbarrow.

Here is a picture of our car parked on the side of their nicely graded, slightly corrugated, 13km long driveway. Can you imagine the life that they had before if they thought packing up their kids and walking 400 miles into the dry unknown was a better option?

(When the miners first arrived here there were trees, but for miles around they were cut down for mine supports, smelter fuel and building material.)

Once they arrived here it wasn’t only the men who worked. The kids were the ones who pushed the carts full of ore to the surface, hauled sacks full of rocks, sorted the ore and cut tree trunks with hand saws for the mine supports. All this for 75c a week. That was not all they got though, working in such a place ensured that they shared in the respiratory complaints that the older miners did, and died young too.

On the surface tour the guide (who was great) showed us the remains of a hut. It was just a stack of stones in a small square which originally had a few logs laid over the top and more rocks stacked on top. There was a photo in the tea-room of one of the guides crouched in the doorway while the roof was still on but now the logs and rocks off the roof had been removed as I can’t imagine anyone going in there after all this time without first putting their affairs in order!

Daydream Mine township ruins map.

This tiny hut had no standing room and no lying room either. It was just a place to keep their cooking utensils and gather at night. They didn’t need any room for beds as their lungs were so riddled with miners complaint (phthisis) that they had to sleep propped up against the walls.

The township here had a population of 500 at its peak, with the obligatory pubs and other places that make people feel civilized. The ruins of the town are still there right across the road from the smelter.

Looking out over the ruins it is hard to imagine so many people living out here. It must have been an unbelievably hard existence.

Daydream Mine township ruins.

After we had heard the story of the workers we all wandered to the shed and were fitted out for helmets and headlights. The mine was dug by people who would be considered small by todays standards and as such the roof was dangerously low for our modern-day heads! It is also unlit, so without headlamps we would be plunged into darkness.

It was very funny to see the group hesitantly step forward to take an appropriately sized belt to buckle the battery for the lamp on to. We had been here before so we knew this would happen, but those in the crowd who were a little weight sensitive were clearly uncomfortable going to the long end of the rack for a larger belt!

Once we were geared up the guide led us to the steps and cautioned us not to touch things, to all stick together, to use the handrail and watch our heads. There is a sign at the top of the steps that warns you that you are about to pass the point of getting a refund, so anyone who wants to back out had better make up their minds right then and there!

Going down into the Daydream Mine.

The steps down are quite steep and the hole in the rock small, if you are claustrophobic you will realize pretty quickly that you are not going to enjoy yourself.

Once in it doesn’t get any better and the handrail comes in very handy! The mine slopes steeply and the roof is low, the kids were having no trouble at all, laughing at our difficulties, while all of the adults were very glad for the helmets, I can’t tell you how many times I banged mine against the roof, and I am by no means tall!

We wandered through tunnels while the guide stopped us at different points and told us stories until we reached a more open (but still small) area that went no further. We all perched on rocks and, lighting a single candle, he asked us to all turn off our headlamps. The original miners dug the 4km of tunnels by candlelight and he showed us how it was dug. A team of men used a sharpened metal bar and hammered it in to make a pattern of deep holes. Black powder was then poured in, a fuse, and the hole was plugged with clay. The fuses trailed out and all ran together, when the handful of them was lit the men ran quickly away hoping that only the bit that they want would fall apart and not the whole mine.

Last time we were here one of the kids on the tour freaked out halfway through and his mum had to take him back to the surface alone. On this tour the whole group made it through without difficulty, although by the time we had made the steep climb back to the top, and up the last few steps, some of the group were wobbly legged and probably wishing they had given up and gone back earlier too!

It was a great tour, the guide had been a miner himself in the big Broken Hill mines. Naturally, number 2 son immediately befriended with him after pointing out a hidden bit of rich ore that had previously escaped his notice during the many tours he had guided.

After we put all of our gear back in the shed we were the last to leave, as usual, as number 2 was pulled aside and the two of them had a good talk about interesting rocks while the rest of the crowd went to sign out. He was given a huge rock full of interesting shapes and colours to take home and, as you can imagine, was totally thrilled.

Daydream mine tea room.

We wandered back to the perfectly decorated office/tea room and bought a drinks and a piece of cake.

As the kids sat down with their soft drinks the bloke who did the tour wandered quietly past and gave number 2 one of the pieces of galena he had sneakily lifted from a display and muttered “put it in your pocket”. Again, a happy kid.

As I mentioned before, the road in to the mine is only 13kms long. It tuns through beautiful arid country and we kept pulling over for the other tourists to zoom past. They were all racing to the next thing and we were just happy where we were.

We pulled over a few times to look at the view or just an interesting bit of ground, it took us ages to get back to the main road. That is how we usually travel through the bush, if you go too fast you will miss out on all the cool stuff. The battery in the Man’s camera ran out halfway back and he was most unimpressed. This led us to returning the next day just to do the drive again!

relaxed kangaroos

Of course that meant we had no other plan for that day, and to drive the 26 km round trip took us hours. Again we constantly pulled over for those rushing past, including one time when we rolled to a stop beside a few kangaroos standing in the scrub. The other car rushed past, totally missing the chance to see them. The day before we had accidentally done the same beside a big, and very angry, Stumpy Tail lizard, nearly running him over!

I don’t understand why everyone drives all this way out to see things and then not actually look for them. What a waste.

We got home just in time for me so sit down and finish this post while listening to the NRL Grand Final on the radio (and the end on the tv). My team the Melbourne Storm got up and kicked the Canterbury Bulldogs winning 14 to 4. GO STORM! What a great day 😀

36 comments on “The Daydream Mine.”

GO STORM!! Sorry, there is a chance that will preface pretty much everything I say for the rest of the evening 😉 The Man is completely disinterested in NRL as well, I sat alone in the peace and quiet for the whole game, if he showed his face I would shout GO BILLY! and he would quickly retreat 🙂

I’m glad you like the post, it is a great place, that is why we were happy to go back again and fork out for the same tour we had seen before. Usually mine tours are quite sanitized and safe and probably quite far from what the miners actually experienced. I think the only reason we couldn’t hear the creaking of the timbers was that the people on our tour never stopped talking…

I was fascinated with your tour. What did they mine for there? You’re really good with your descriptions and full of enthusiasm. I’m guessing that NRL might be to do with Rugby?
We have a slate mine not too far away that does an underground tour showing how the miners worked…we don’t know how lucky we are today. Blanau Ffestiniog if you ever get to Wales and want to check it out. I think they even have a shop these days using the original currency.

I can’t believe I didn’t include that small but vital fact! Thank you for pointing it out. I have edited it in now. They originally started mining for silver but found the ore was rich in lead and zinc as well.

I am really pleased that you enjoyed the post. Even though it is an arid and remote place it is just beautiful. I say that after driving there in my airconditioned 4WD and buying cake at the tea room. The thought of walking for weeks in the unrelenting heat with the kids and no water is just unimaginable.

Yes, NRL is rugby, league, not union. GO STORM! 🙂

The bloke who was doing our tour said that his father was also a miner, and called the sons version of mining ‘powderpuff mining’. He was a pick and shovel kind of miner, but I bet that the conditions he worked in were far better that the ones experienced by the miners we heard about. We can all complain about over-regulation but sometimes it is a very good thing.

We only ever plan one thing a day. We could easily do more but we are always the ones hanging back to ask questions and see a bit more. Something that will take others an hour will take us at least 3, probably more. We are actually interested, we aren’t just ticking things off the list of stuff we did. Luckily the kids always find things interesting too and don’t stand in the background whining!

You know you’re so right! It is hard work when they’re young, especially with boys I think coz they push the envelope more than girls. But once they all know where the boundaries are life becomes a joy again.

Agreed! Who is in charge people!? When they were small I was happy to let them have a lolly for being good at the shops, I would let them choose one at the start but any bad behaviour would result in them having to put it back. Seeing your brother get to eat a lolly after you had to put yours back for not doing as you are told is a very quick way to get good behaviour at all times! 🙂

lol – I think you and I must have read the same ‘book’ on child raising… and it wasn’t Dr Spock, that’s for sure.

On a serious note, I sometimes feel really sorry for parents who try to do what they’ve been told is the right thing but only end up disliking their own kids. I honestly can’t think of anything sadder.

🙂 Probably! I laughed when I read your comment, and ‘literally’ the first thing I though of was this clip from Horrible Histories…… “and I’ll drink a toast, from your skull, cos we’re Vikings, and that’s how we roooooollllllll” 😀 😀

Daydream Mine sounds like a great place to visit but an awful place to have worked. Your question of what must the miners and their families have left to have wanted to live in such a desolate location and take on such a hard life is indeed one worth pondering.

Your description is very vivid and interesting. I really enjoyed reading it.

The tour guides descriptions of the way they lived was so interesting. We have hear it before so we were just hearing someone elses interpretation of the same information, but others in the group were giving little gasps at the tales of labour the children were expected to perform.

I suggested to our kids that they should stop moaning about doing small chores for us, otherwise we might give them a ‘real job’ like that too. They just rolled their eyes and said “muuuuum” as expected. Oh well, hopefully they realize how lucky they are to be living in the days of children being expected to be children and not small labourers.

Yes, I tell my girls that their great-great aunt, who just turned 101, used to help her father farm when she was 10 years old by leading a mule while her father worked the plough. And he farmed several hundred acres. She didn’t have to do all the land with him, but she had to do plenty, along with many other chores.

So it quietly infuriates me when I pick my children up from their mother’s house and find out no one’s done any of homework, or done anything besides watch television.

One of the good things about having a decent grasp of history is that we can explain to our kids what life was like for children just a few generations ago. They may not appreciate it, but I get to pontificate, and isn’t that what being a parent is all about?

Our kids have complained every night because they have to keep a daily journal and do a bit of school work whenever we are on holiday. The deal is you work while we are away, or you go back to school and we stay on holiday. I’m not sure how we would ever carry out that threat but it doesn’t really matter. What kid is going to choose to go back!?

They are even more annoyed about it this time, we are planning to be away for 4 weeks, two of which are school holidays anyway. It took about a week for the kids to realize this and begin the rebellion. We told them if they complained too much we would just go home early and that us parents would hang out at home everyday doing cool stuff and send them back to school the week earlier, when everyone else went back. Journals are being done as I speak…. funny about that!

We are like you, and make a point of letting the kids know how hard it is for other kids in the world and how lucky they are to be living in a first world country right now. We grow-ups are pretty lucky too, aren’t we!

I’m putting the Daydream Mine on our list too! Although it will only be the G.O. doing the tour. I am way too claustrophobic, but he’ll really enjoy it and it will take us hours to go through the whole place. I’ll wander around and look for intersting rocks and take photos. I like the way you travel. We also like NRL but when our Bunnies lost their last game, we lost a little of our passion for this season, although we watched the game – the G.O. liked the biff. I liked Billy 😉

Definitely one to avoid if you don’t like tight spaces, but the surface tour is fascinating on its own. Tea and scones in the homestead while looking at the photos on the wall will certainly keep you from being bored! 🙂
The only thing I wished for while there was a track up to a high place for a good lookout, it is such a beautiful place. There are hills all around but you are supposed to keep your car on the road. We looked wistfully at the higher hills and wished those tracks were open to us….

I like Billy too, so do the kids, but for different reasons! I admit to shouting in horror at the telly when he was bitten on the ear at the start of the game, poor Billy….. Saw him on the tv in Melbourne on their triumphant return and he still looked just as good… phew… 😉

Okay, a few comments/questions. 1) How come the most horrible things have the prettiest names? 2) Your son has really sharp eyes! 3) Why do you think people rush through their vacations like startled cats?

1) The story goes that it was called the Daydream Mine because when the first guy saw the outcrop so loaded with silver and realized he had stuck it rich he said that it must be a day dream. I think that it was probably Nightmare Mine for most of the workers though.

2) He certainly does, and he is small for his age, convenient for seeing the world on a different angle than the rest of us. Plus, he will talk to anyone about anything, most kids would keep things to themselves but he is the one who will pipe up in front of an entire tour group and say “this rock looks cool, what is it?”

3) I suspect people like to say that they have been to places. I think that you have to have a distinct memory of the place, not just a 5 minute stop inside a coffee shop or such, to be able to say you have been there.
Often they want to go as far as they can manage and that means racing from A to B in as few days as possible. We consider the trip to be the holiday and don’t even bother planning an ultimate destination, why pressure ourselves?

1) Two summers ago, I was watching this thing on tattoos of the Russian prison system, and I realized that the pan-Russian culture has a knack for giving things creepy nicknames. Here’s an example: The worst gulag in Russia is called “White Swan” by its inmates.

2) I was small for my age— it was perfect for disarming adults who thought I was three years younger than my actual age until… my 30s, I think. : D I think children who are comfortable with talking to adults are raised in homes where their ideas are taken seriously. That’s awesome.

3) I think I’ve know a lot of the “go as far as you can” people. I didn’t do many road trips growing up. (I flew for dance competitions, which cut into the household budget immensely.) Once or twice, we drove to L.A. in 23 hours, no sleep stops. I don’t have that kind of stamina. And it was really unpleasant. I’m really lounge-y on vacations, if left to my own devices.

Being sent to the ‘White Swan’ sounds like a hotel on a lake rather than a labour camp. Funny how people use names, isn’t it?

Number 2 has always looked younger than he is and is extremely articulate which can have hilarious results. The lady in the newsagent one time told him his toy plastic dinosaur was ‘very nice’. He looked about 2, an age where most kids can barely string a few words together. He looked at her and said, very seriously, “He’s not cute, he’s a carnivore. Carnivores eat meat. You are made of meat, he would eat you”. Needless to say, dinosaurs were never likely to be cute for her ever again.

Those kinds of forced travel holidays would probably ensure you came home just as stressed as you were when you left I expect. Lounge-y vacations sound just right to me. 🙂 We intended to go further than we did this time, we just enjoyed what we were doing too much to rush off to something else.